The Dangers of Starting Over and Moving On
by KiwiDaydreamer
Summary: Sequel to 'The Healing of Travis Stoll.' After seeing Katie again, Travis is determined to try and move on. How far will he go to 'forget' the only girl he ever loved, even if it means losing a few people along the way? What happens if he can't forget?
1. Part One: The Façade

****The Dangers of Starting Over, Moving On and Everything in Between****

**A/N: **I freaking love you all. I'm not even kidding. 49 reviews for the Healing of Travis Stoll and 15 for the Wish List! It's the best Christmas present ever! Thank you guys so much for all your support! Hopefully this story lives up to everyone's expectations. Considering it a Christmas present from me to you :) This is a sequel, so if you want the story to make sense, read The Healing of Travis Stoll. Pretty much picks up where the Healing ended. Enjoy and have amazing Christmases all!

**Disclaimer: **Ha! No :(

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><p><strong>Part One: The Façade<strong>

It had been two or three hours since Althea Stoll had met her mother for the first time in fifteen years, and her mind was still whirling with millions of questions. Growing up, she had always thought that meeting her mom would finally answer all the questions she had been asking for her whole life, but instead, she was left with more questions and not enough answers.

After the rather awkward confrontation, Althea was quick to slip away and made her way back to the Big House to tell Chiron that his dad and Katie were okay. She didn't quite know where to go after that. Part of her was contemplating going to the Hermes cabin, the place she stayed when she was at camp, but she knew that she wasn't ready to be bombarded with questions.

Somehow, the daughter of Travis had found herself sitting by the archery field. There were not many campers around at this time, as they were all back in their cabins, meeting the new campers and getting to see all their old friends. Althea was aching for everything to go back to the way it was two hours ago, but there was no turning back. She wanted to go back to her cabin and introduce herself to her new uncles and aunties, but Althea couldn't bring herself to move from her secluded spot by the archery fields.

There were many conflicting emotions the young granddaughter of Hermes was feeling at the time, but one of them had stood out the most. She was completely and utterly overwhelmed by the situation. Words could barely describe the overwhelming feeling that threatened to break the young girl's heart. For the first time in a long time, Althea felt the need to burst into tears. She'd hadn't had that feeling since she was eight years old and found out that her mom was never going to come home.

Althea curled up into a small ball, her knees pulled into her chest as she wrapped her arms around her legs. She had never felt so vulnerable, nor so emotional before. As she closed her eyes, a picture of Katie entered her mind. The same emerald colored eyes that Althea herself possessed, the tanned skin that could have only come from many years of constant gardening out in the sun and the same lithe frame. Cursing in Greek, Althea was quick to open her eyes.

Meeting her mom was nothing like she had imagined it. She had always thought that it was going to different, more _heartfelt._ The young curly haired girl had imagined a big warm hug, and the instant knowing that her mom loved her. There were going to be happy tears as Katie professed her undying love for her daughter, apologizing profusely for that fact that she had ever left her daughter. Althea had imagined her mom making a promise to be a part of her life from now on.

Instead, she got an awkward conversation with no hugs or any love shown whatsoever. There was no promise, barely even an apology. Althea's mind drifted back to the conversation her dad and mom had.

'_You had your chances Katie!' _

Travis' voice rung through her mind as she replayed the scene in her head. The desperation and hurt that had been etched in his voice was enough to want to make Althea dislike her mom for a long, long period of time.

Throughout the years, Travis was the strong rock in his daughter's life. Sure, he messed up, daily even. But he was her father and had everything he possibly could and then some to give his daughter a better life. He had worked tirelessly day after day to provide a living for them both, but had never bothered to complain about any of it. He was always there for his daughter, the shoulder to cry on, his arms always open for comfort. Yet, there he was, almost on the verge of breaking down right in front of Althea. Katie had been his undoing, and it was quite an undoing indeed.

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><p>Travis was seated in one of the rooms in the Big House, the room where he'd be staying with his brother while they were at camp. It was a small room with a blue rug and wooden bunk beds to one side, with a matching chest of drawers directly opposite the bunks. Travis had sat on the edge of the bottom bunk, thinking about Katie.<p>

"Uh, Uncle Trav?" Little Damon Stoll was tugging on the hem of his father's older brother's shirt, trying to get his attention. Ever since he'd talked to Katie, Travis' mind was simply in a whole another universe. He had tried everything to get the beautiful daughter of Demeter out of his head, but there was no use. The voice of his youngest nephew broke his reverie and he was quick to look down at the young boy.

"Yes Damon?" he crouched down to look into his nephew's eyes, smiling as his dark brown eyes met with Damon's light blue.

"Where's Althea?" he asked. Travis thought for a second. He knew that Lysander was taking the new Hermes kids on a tour around the camp with their camp counselor, Jimmy. The elder Stoll had thought that was where his daughter had headed after meeting Katie, and didn't bother to think twice about it.

"I'll go find her, okay?" Travis told his nephew with a reassuring pat on the younger boy's dark curls. He stood up and made his way to the main lounge of the Big House, hoping that someone had spotted his daughter. Travis knew that she couldn't have gone far, but he couldn't help but feel slightly worried for his only child.

The elder Stoll was greeted with warm smiles as he entered the lounge. Many of the kids he had grown up with camp were seated around the area. He spotted Chris, Connor, Malcolm and Percy sitting together in a corner, laughing their heads off at something Connor had said. Travis made a beeline over to their direction, hoping to find out if any of them had seen his daughter.

"Hey guys," he greeted them all with a slight nod of the head. They all replied with a quick hello, careful to avoid asking how he was. By this time, everyone at camp had heard about Travis and Katie's bitter reunion and all the guys knew better than to ask about it. If Travis wanted to tell them about it, he would've already done so. "Have you seen Althea anywhere?" He asked. When they all shook their heads, the elder Stoll felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine. _She's fine,_ a little voice reassured him. As he left the Big House, he silently prayed to the Gods that the voice was right.

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><p>Althea didn't know how much time had passed since she had sat down at the archery field, but she figured it had been at least an hour. The feelings of anger had started to subside and she was left with the raw pain that came from the conformation that her mother didn't love her.<p>

Travis hadn't been the only person at camp who was worried about his daughter. Jess Rodriquez, Thad Ryder and Lysander Stoll had formed a small search party for their food, all hoping that at least one of them was going to find her. Since Lysander had to help Jimmy with the Hermes orientation, he was going to take the dining room and cabin areas. Jess had decided to check the amphitheater and forest, leaving Thad to check the lake and archery fields.

As Thad made his way through the archery fields, he heard a branch snap and a small rustle, followed by a small sniffle. Malcolm's son reached from his back pocket to grab his small celestial bronze dagger as he neared the sounds. He nearly dropped the dagger as he came closer, only to realize who it was. Althea's back was to the blonde haired boy, her shoulder slumped and her dark hair in a messy tangle above her head. She had never looked more beautiful.

"Althea," Thad breathed, forgetting about everything as he quietly came closer, as to not startle her. Travis' daughter didn't say a word as she slowly lifted her head off her arms to glance at one of her best friends. Soon, he was standing in front of her with one of the most sincere expression of sympathy on his face, it nearly made Althea tear up. She was quick to jump and tackle the young boy in a hug.

To say the least, Thad was slightly startled by the immediate display of affection. Sure, he and Althea had hugged plenty of times before, but never like this. Although he was in slight shock by the fact his best friend's arms were wrapped securely around his waist, he was quick to respond, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Althea buried her head into the crook of Thad's neck.

"Hey, it's okay," Thad told her with a reassuring pat on the back. They stood there for who knows how long in that exact position, their arms around each other in a strangely comfortable silence. The only sound they could hear was the leaves rustling around them as the wind started to pick up a bit. They both broke the hug off a while later, looking at each other with pink faces, trying to avoid eye contact.

"Sorry," Althea and Thad were both quick to apologize at the same time. They both let out a little chuckle, Althea's giggle mixing into Thad's low toned laugh.

"It's okay," Thad replied with a smile that sent a little ray of sunshine into the situation. "The question is, are you okay?" There was a silence that followed the question while Althea tried to contemplate whether she wanted to tell her best friend or not. There was a large part of her that just wanted to blurt everything out to the blonde boy, to get everything off her chest, but the more secretive part of her took over. Althea, like her father, didn't particularly like showing her weak side. She liked to portray her strong side all the time, even though it was only a façade sometimes.

"I'm fine T," she told him with what she hoped looked like a reassuring smile. If he didn't believe her, Thad didn't show it. He simply returned the smile and gave her another quick hug.

"Let's get going then. Your dad's been looking for you," he told her as they started to walk back to the cabins.

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><p>It was nearing two in the morning, but Althea still hadn't got any sleep. After returning to the main area of camp, she ran into her dad. Literally. She had gotten a five minute lecture on the dangers of going places without anyone knowing where she was before she was sent to the Hermes cabin to get some rest. Ironically enough, she couldn't get any sleep.<p>

Her mind was still reeling with questions while she shifted restlessly in her bunk bed. She was careful to not make too much noise as she didn't want forty Hermes campers on her case for waking them all up. Althea sighed, running a hand through her dark hair. She desperately wanted to talk to someone about everything she was feeling, but she was scared.

She was scared for a few reasons, some of them slightly rational, others, well, not so much. She was worried that nobody was going to understand what she was going through. Out of all of her friends, she was the only person who didn't live with both her mother and father. Although she usually joked about it, or didn't mention it at all, Althea always felt a little pang of pain whenever her friends mentioned their moms.

Another reason was that she was scared of telling anyone about what she felt was because she didn't want to show her weak side. Althea never showed her true colors whenever something was wrong with her, simply because she hated showing people that she was fragile. She had the image and reputation of the strong and confident daughter of Travis, the one who was most likely going to be Hermes cabin counselor when it was her time. And there was no way she wanted to change that. Althea liked the strong girl, so she never bothered to show her weak side.

She was determined to keep the tough façade up as long as she possibly could, no matter what it took. And meeting her mother wasn't going to change that.

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><p><strong>AN:** Please let me know what you think! I also am thinking about posting a series of un-related oneshots about Travis and Katie (and yes, some are actually going to be happy.) Thoughts?


	2. Part Two: A Decision

**A/N: **Thank you guys for all the reviews. In case you haven't noticed, I usually reply to your reviews once I post the next chapter, just as a heads up. Hope everyone had the most amazing New Years ever :)

**Disclaimer: **As much as I wish I did, I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any of the original characters. If I did, they would all be emotionally screwed. My stories are a prime example. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>The Dangers of Starting Over, Moving On and Everything in Between<strong>

**Part Two: A ****Decision**

For the record, Travis was not having a good day. All he really wanted to do was settle down on his couch wearing sweatpants and an old jersey, watching CSI: Miami re-runs while eating popcorn and candy with his daughter.

Unfortunately for him, he was sitting in the main room of the Big House in his jeans and a brand new blue camp T-shirt that had been issued out to all the adult helpers, trying to look like his usual happy-go-lucky self. There was still another meeting all the adults had to attend about first aid, but to be frank, Travis was not interested. For a second he wondered why he was even there in the first place. He was sitting by his brother and half-brother, simply staring at the ugly carpet while everyone socialized around him.

Travis' mind was still reeling at the thought that Katie was actually in the same room as him. She was seated on the opposite side of lounge, with a few of her half-siblings and of course, Jake freaking Mason. The elder Stoll looked up for a moment and stole a quick glance at the son of Hephaestus, a small fleck of anger starting to rise in his chest. He wasn't quite sure who was angry at exactly, whether it was Chiron for bringing him here in the first place, or whether it was Jake for stealing the only girl he had ever truly loved. Maybe it was Katie herself, not only for tearing his heart into pieces repetitively, but for breaking his daughter's heart also.

A part of him wondered if he was angry at himself. He had reason to, once he thought about it. Travis was angry that he couldn't handle the situation with Katie better. For Hades' sake, he could barely look at her without all the old feelings resurfacing. He was angry that he allowed a simple (yet oh so amazing) daughter of Demeter have such an effect on him. Most of all, he was angry that he allowed his daughter to get hurt. He saw the look on Althea's face when she had finally met her mother and it had torn the young man into pieces. Travis knew better than anybody that all Althea had wanted to do for such a long time was meet her mother and get to know her, but he highly doubted that was going to happen. In effect, he may have just ruined his daughter's dreams.

He wasn't quite sure how he managed to get through the last meeting, but he did it. As he stumbled back to the small room where he and his brother were going to be sleeping in for the next few days, Travis could barely remember any of the information that he had been told in the past hour. He couldn't help but feel slightly glad that Connor was only going to be staying for a few nights. He loved his brother more than he ever cared to admit, but Travis couldn't have anyone see him like this.

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><p>As soon as Travis reached the small room, he flicked the light switch on, fully prepared to just crash on his bunk, but Connor and Chris had other ideas.<p>

"We need to talk," Connor told his older brother the moment he walked through the door. Travis had jumped in surprise, not realizing that his brothers had been in the room and mumbled a curse as he tried to calm his fast beating heart.

"Can you never do that again?" Travis grumbled as he glared at Connor. The younger Stoll wore a smirk on his face as he watched his brother, although most of him was actually really worried about Travis. He knew more about Travis than Travis knew about himself, and Connor was fully convinced that his brother needed to make some drastic changes. As much as the younger Stoll loved to see his brother squirm once in a while, it was getting too much.

Connor had really tried to like Katie, he really did, but if he was being honest, he couldn't stand her. Even when she was in love with Travis when they were teenagers, she had always treated Connor badly. Although she was civil to him when his brother was around, she always seemed to act like she hated the younger Stoll. It wasn't anything major, but Katie was just cold towards Connor. He had tried quite hard to be nice to her for the sake of his brother, even going as far as not pranking their cabin for a whole three weeks, but nothing worked. When he had asked Chris about it, the Hispanic teen had simply shrugged and told him that he should just get used to it.

"_You see Connor, you are Travis' brother and best friend. Katie probably feels like you and her are going to be competing for Travis' attention. And you know Katie, she never likes to lose."_

Those words had stuck with the younger Stoll for the rest of his life. Connor knew that Chris was completely right, Katie never liked to lose. She was known for having the greatest tantrums whenever her team lost in Capture The Flag and he was quite glad that it was not an accustomed event. Again, Katie had won. She had managed to move on before Travis did.

Seeing Katie with Jake made Connor want to go punch a wall, and then punch Jake. Sure, he didn't like Katie in the slightest, but seeing his brother's face fall the moment he saw Jake and Katie together fueled his anger towards her even further. The stupid daughter of Demeter broke Travis' heart so many times and did not deserve another chance at all.

He'd heard from Lysander that Katie had wanted Althea to stay with her for a little while. That had sent Connor into a fit of fury. How dare she walk out on his brother and niece, only to come back fifteen years later and dare to ask for a second chance? There was no way in Hades that Connor was going to let this woman win, not if he could help. So he did what all children of Hermes do best, he decided to meddle.

Connor and Chris had talked beforehand, trying to devise a plan to try and get Travis to move on. The younger Stoll knew better than anyone that his brother was in no shape or form over his former girlfriend, no matter how much he tried to deny it. But he and Chris were going to change that. They were going to help him to get over the stupid woman and move on with his life. All they had to do was get Travis to agree. Which was going to be much easier said than done.

The younger Stoll shook himself out of his revere to turn his attention back to his older brother. He shrugged in apology and patted the end of the bed next to him, motioning Travis to come and sit with him.

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><p>Travis didn't know what his brother was scheming, but by the bright mischievous look in his eye, he had a feeling it was going to be about him and he wasn't going to like it. Rather cautiously, he made his way over to the bed where his two brothers were sitting and did as Connor suggested.<p>

"What's going on?" he asked, wondering for a moment whether he really wanted to know the answer. Connor and Chris exchanged glances before the Hispanic spoke up.

"Look Travis, we need to talk. I know you hate talking about feelings and all that shizz, and trust me, Connor and I aren't extremely fond of the idea either. But we aren't going to stand on the sidelines and watch you bottle up all your feelings inside and then end up on the receiving side of your anger when you finally blow up," Chris stated in a rather blank tone, as if they were merely discussing a football game.

It took Travis a moment to try and decipher what Chris was talking about, but he got the gist of it with a few seconds. He smiled at his brothers gratefully as he ran a hand through his dark hair.

"There really isn't much to say," He began with a slight shrug. Connor gave him an 'are-you-serious?' look as he glared at him with disbelief.

"Not much to say my ass. Lysander told me what happened. How could you let her get to you like this?" Connor asked. He was truly concerned about his brother. He was the one who saw Travis at his worst, but also at his best. Travis was not the type of guy who let anything get to him, especially when it was a girl. Connor had always wondered what had made Katie Gardner (Now Katie Mason) so different, considering she was just an average daughter of Demeter.

"Look guys, I'm really not in the mood," Travis snapped, and he was most certainly not. He had spent the whole day putting on the whole 'I don't care' façade and he knew he couldn't keep it up much longer. Much like his daughter, Travis hated anyone seeing him at his worst and made it a point that most people never did. Connor and Chris, however, were exceptions, but even then, he hardly let his true emotions show when they were around.

"I don't care whether you're in the mood or not. We need to talk about this!" Connor cried, raising his hands up in the air, partially exasperated. Chris sighed, knowing that if he didn't interfere soon, both of the Stolls were going to be at each other's necks.

"Guys," the Hispanic warned, his voice booming with authority. He was a year older than Travis and both of the Stolls were aware that his tone of voice meant he meant business. They had heard that tone many times during their teenage years and it was usually because both of the boys were about to kill each other. Travis forced himself to calm down and try to think rationally. Chris and Connor were only here to try and help him, although he wasn't quite sure he wanted their help.

"Sorry," Both of the Stolls murmured, as if they were young boys getting in trouble for bickering during a class.

A few minutes of silence passed between the three young men as they tried to gather their thoughts. Travis really did want to talk to Connor and Chris, he really did. But the thing was, he didn't quite know what to say. He sat on the bed, thinking about Katie and remembering the day he had decided to throw all of her things out of the apartment almost fourteen years ago.

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><p><em>It had taken Travis three hours to do it, but he had finally managed to put two year old Althea to bed. She had been crying for most of the night and nothing the elder Stoll seemed to do helped the distressed baby, and Travis almost cried in relief when Althea finally shut her eyes and started snoring softly in his arms. He was careful to lay her down as softly as possibly, in fear of waking her and was immensely thankful that she didn't stir as he put Althea in her cot. <em>

_It was nearing ten pm and all the son of Hermes wanted to do was sleep, but he knew that he wasn't going to be hitting the hay for a long time. He had planned to get rid of Katie's things that night as he needed more room in the small apartment. All of the stuff Katie had left behind was sitting in two of the cupboards in the hallway and Travis was going to need them as Althea started to grow. _

_The eldest Stoll had always tried to avoid touching Katie's things. After she had left, he had asked Malcolm and Connor to help him put her stuff into boxes. When the day actually came to pack all of her stuff away, he ended up spending most of the day with Althea, trying to find excuses as Malcolm and his brother sorted through the things before piling them in boxes and storing them away. Since then, Travis hadn't seen any of her stuff, and he had wanted to keep it that way._

_He wasn't quite sure what he was doing, but before he knew it, he was picking up his cell phone and dialing Connor's number._

"_Travis?" Connor sounded either slightly annoyed, or slightly confused. He hadn't been expecting to hear from his brother, not that he wasn't pleased or anything. The younger Stoll hadn't heard from Travis in about a week, since Althea had started to wake up during the night. His brother was incredibly busy trying to juggle work and his daughter, so Connor could understand why he wasn't as available as he used to be._

"_Hey bro, are you busy?" Travis asked as he stood in front of one of the cupboards where Katie's things were. He felt pretty foolish, being too scared to even open the door, but he couldn't help it. He had tried so incredibly hard to not think about the beautiful girl who had broken his heart, and he thought that maybe if he threw her things away, the pain could go away. But he was barely fooling himself, he knew that the pain she had caused would never going away._

"_Nah, why's that?" The younger Stoll replied. There was silence for a moment before Connor finally realized what was going on. "Are you serious Travis? Just throw her things out already!" He cried, feeling more than exasperated. He loved his brother, he truly did, but Travis could be a complete idiot sometimes. _

"_I'm going to," Travis told his younger brother indignantly, but neither of them could miss the shakiness in his voice. The elder Stoll silently cursed himself for being such a fool. For a second, he wondered why he was calling Connor in the first place._

"_No, you're not," Connor snapped, starting to feel annoyed. His brother just needed to get over the stupid girl anyway. It was going to be better for everyone, especially Travis. He didn't need to feel all mopey and sad all the time. Katie was the one who left him, it was her loss. He deserved to move on and be happy again. _

"_I am!" Travis almost yelled into his phone, and he probably would've if he hadn't remembered that Althea was sleeping next door. He couldn't help the anger that was starting to build up in him. All he wanted was an encouraging word, or something. He most definitely did not enjoy his brother reading his mind and telling him everything he was afraid of saying._

"_No, you're not," Connor repeated, slowly and painful, as if he was talking to a four year old child. "Look Travis, why are you so scared? She isn't coming back Travis! She's not! You deserve so much better than her. You need to move on."_

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><p>Travis had never admitted it, but he had never forgotten those words. They had circled his mind every single day for the past fourteen years and yet he still couldn't figure out why he couldn't get over Katie. She was a simple daughter of Demeter and Travis didn't understand why she had such an effect on him. It was as if she had some kind of magical power and put him under a spell, enchanted him somehow. As he thought about the possibility, his brother's words flowed into his mind once more.<p>

_You need to move on._

Travis didn't know how long the silence had lasted, but he decided he'd had enough. He cleared his throat noisily to catch the attention of the other two, who glanced at him with confused expressions.

"Yes?" Chris asked, his voice full with anticipation and wonder as he looked at his younger half-brother. Even though they weren't even related by blood, Chris loved both Travis and Connor like real brothers and he hated seeing them upset or sad. The overprotective brotherly instinct had always seemed to pop up whenever Travis and Katie were mentioned and the Hispanic man would've done anything to help the pain go away.

"I need to move on," Travis mumbled the unfamiliar words. There was a slight metallic taste in his mouth and he didn't realize he had bitten his tongue in such anxiety until the pain came. He swore quietly as Connor and Chris exchanged glances.

It wasn't exactly the way they had planned the night to go, but they had gotten what they wanted. Travis was going to move on. He was going to try at least, and that was something. Chris managed to keep his emotions in check and simply nodded, but Connor couldn't help the small smirk that appeared on his face and did his best to make sure it didn't turn into a full blown grin.

"We'll be right by your side Trav," Connor told him as he put a comforting arm around his brother. They were not a family who enjoyed much public displays of affection, and usually when they did, it was a 'friendly' punch on the arm, but this time was an exception.

Travis glanced at his brother with a grateful smile. He wasn't quite sure that he was actually going to have enough guts to say what he had said, but as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he knew they were genuine. Katie had moved on, and it was time that he did too.

The younger Stoll felt a wave of relief rush through him as he heard his brother utter the very words he had wanted to hear since Katie had broken his heart. It meant that he finally accepted that Katie wasn't going to come back. It pained Connor more than he could ever imagine to see his brother hurt and the way Katie had treated Travis had given the elder Stoll enough heartbreak to last a lifetime. Travis was a great guy and he didn't deserve the treatment he had gotten fifteen years ago. But somehow, it seemed okay now. Katie wasn't going to win this game.

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><p>Oh. I'm planning to post those oneshots I mentioned. And the first one will actually be...happy. *GASP* I know, I know.<br>Reviews make a girl smile :D


	3. Part Three: Dash of Self Pity

**A/N: **I am so sorry for leaving this for three months! Life has been so extremely busy with going to a new school and everything. Since I've settled, hopefully I will be posting more regularly. I'm so sorry again, I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer: **If I was Rick Riordan, I wouldn't have taken three months to write this.

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><p><strong>The Dangers of Starting Over, Moving On and Everything in Between<strong>

**Part Three: Dash of Self-Pity and a Sprinkle of Katie**

Travis was never the type of person who liked to give up. Like most males, he was extremely competitive and growing up, he was also known for his ability to be one of the sorest losers during capture the flag. Yet, sitting near the lake and picking off the paint on the dock he was seated on, giving up was all he felt like doing. It was mid-afternoon and Travis was knackered. He had spent most of the day attempting to teach a bunch of ten year olds how to remain inconspicuous to monsters when they were out and about, and it was probably the worst thing that Chiron could've assigned him to. After about three hours, Travis was ready to strangle every child in his group and literally looked up to thank the Gods when the lunch bell had sounded.

He wasn't usually the type of guy who threw himself a pity-party. In fact, he usually couldn't stand it when people did things like that and always made it a habit of 'friendly' reminding his friends to cut it out whenever they were immersed in self pity. It certainly wasn't the first time that Travis was full of self pity, but it was certainly a rarity. As he took a mental stroll down memory lane, a sudden snap of a branch startled him and he jumped up in surprise.

"Who's there?" He demanded, his hand immediately gravitating towards his pocket where his sword was kept. Being a demigod had always made him extra cautious about sudden noises and it had quickly become a habit to reach for his sword whenever he heard one.

When he saw Katie appear, he didn't know whether to grab his sword or make a run for it, so he simply stood there frozen, although still on guard.

"Travis…" Katie started, sounding unsure of what to say. It took a moment for Travis to snap out of his funk and when he did, he lowered his hand away from his pocket, but still felt the need to be on guard 110%.

"What do you want?" He asked, the tone of his voice much harsher than he intended. Travis saw Katie flinch slightly at the sound of his voice and he opened his mouth to apologize, but was quick to shut it again. She should be the one apologizing to me, he thought ruefully.

"I think we need to talk," the way she said it made it sound as if she had picked her words very carefully. The son of Hermes looked down at her for a second, pondering what to say. Half of him was screaming at him to say no. I mean, it had been fifteen years. She'd had fifteen years to attempt to 'talk,' so why should she have it now?

But there was a quieter part of Travis that actually considered giving her the opportunity. Although he would never admit it to anyone, he had always wondered what her thoughts were about Althea. He wanted to know why she left. Sure, she had told him about the global exchange, but surely that couldn't be it. She had left her own daughter, for Hades' sake!

Travis didn't trust himself to speak, so instead he nodded. He sat back down on the dock and a few seconds later, Katie had joined him, although she had made sure there was at least thirty centimeters between them. There was an awkward silence for a while, as both of them tried to gather their thoughts. Surprisingly, it was the son of Hermes who had enough courage (or stupidity) to put in the first word.

"Why did you go?" he asked, surprised that his voice was stronger than he felt on the inside. Inwardly, Travis was a mixture of emotions. He had wanted to know these answers for fifteen years, but now the opportunity to actually find out what the answers were, he wasn't so sure he wanted to hear them. There were a few moments of silence before Katie spoke.

"I was in no state to look after a baby," Katie began. The young man sitting beside her suddenly looked up, as if shocked. It took all of Travis' willpower not to scream 'neither was I!' in her face. He simply bit his tongue until the metallic taste of blood came and waited for Katie to continue. "I was scared Travis, so scared. There was no way I was going to raise that baby."

Travis said nothing for the time being, letting the words sink in. As every word whirled around in his mind, it felt like a massive blow to the stomach. Funnily enough, the first thing he noticed was that Katie didn't even call their own daughter by her name, but simply referred to her as a 'baby.' That angered Travis beyond belief, but he did his best to hide his annoyance.

"Don't you think I was scared too?" Travis retorted before he could stop himself. If he wasn't careful, he was going to go on a full blown rant, and everyone knew that wasn't going to be pretty. When Travis got angry, even almighty Percy Jackson got scared. Since Althea had been born, he had learnt to manage his anger a lot better and he did his best never to unleash his wrath upon his daughter, but there didn't seem to be a good enough reason to stop now.

"That's not what-" The daughter of Demeter began, sensing that Travis was getting worked up. Sure, they hadn't seen each other in fifteen years, but the elder Stoll still had many of the habits he attained growing up.

"What?" Travis spat, his eyes narrowing. If he had taken a moment to think, he would've probably realized that this was definitely not the best way to talk things out. But all rational thought had left his mind when he came to terms as to what he thought Katie was trying to say. "That's not what you meant? What did you mean, huh Katie? I was scared too, all right? I was freaking terrified! But unlike you, I wasn't heartless enough to give Althea away!" he yelled, fury boiling in his veins.

Katie was a mixture of emotions. She was partially scared at the thought of a furious Travis, but also furious herself. He didn't understand what she was trying to say and she knew that he wasn't going to try to understand. That was his problem. All the daughter of Demeter wanted to do was slap him in the face, but she had more self control than that. More than anything, she was mad at herself. It was her choice to come over and talk to him, and she knew it hadn't been a wise choice. Katie wasn't even sure why she was here, but that didn't matter know. But what hurt the most was knowing that Travis was right. She had been heartless. But there was no way that she was about to admit that.

"You had no idea what I was going through Travis! I would have screwed its life over if I had kept it!" She replied, her tone dripping with venom. The elder Stoll was ready to explode. How dare she call Althea an 'it?' That was all he heard, that and nothing more

"It? IT?" He cried in frustration, glaring daggers at Katie as he stood up. He just couldn't do this. Not now. Not ever. How stupid was he to even think that he could have this conversation with Katie. Travis knew that he had to walk away now, or he was definitely going to say or do something that he was going to regret. As he started to stalk off, he felt Katie grab his arm.

"I'm sorry Travis, that's not how it meant to come out!" Katie sounded so desperate, he actually considered listening to her. For about a millisecond.

"Katie, that's enough," he muttered gruffly, tearing his arm away from her grasp. "I'm going to tell you a few things, and that is all I am ever going to say to you again," he began, his tone full of anger and hurt. He glared down at the only girl that he had ever loved, a wave of heartbreak crashing over him like a ton of bricks.

"Number one, stay away from Althea, and stay away from me. You had fifteen years to try and ask for forgiveness, fifteen years too many. That's it Katie, I'm done. There hasn't been a day since you gave Althea to me that I wondered what life would be like if you hadn't walked out. I wondered if Althea would be the same if she had a loving mother that she deserved. But I realized that was a waste of my freaking time! I'm not waiting for you anymore Katie," Travis' voice had dropped to a mere whisper, proving how disgusted he was. There were not many things that could disgust the elder Stoll, but right now, he felt like he was standing in front of the biggest pile of Pegasus poop known to man. And it was the grossest feeling in the world.

"Number two," he was quick to continue. "Don't you ever call my daughter an 'it' ever again! Althea is the most beautiful, talented and amazing girl that I have ever met, and she will be the only girl I will ever love. You don't deserve to know her Katie. You had your chances, you had fifteen bloody years for Hades sake! She doesn't need you Katie. More importantly, I don't either."

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><p><strong>AN:** I know it's short and not my best, but please let me know what you think! Also, I have posted a *gasp* happy (I know!) oneshot about good ol' Tratie so I'd love you to check it out and tell me what you think of that too. Cheers :D


	4. Part Four: Being Sure of Being Unsure

**The Dangers of Starting Over, Moving On and Everything in Between**

**A/N: **I am so sorry for waiting for a ridiculously long amount of time before writing and posting. Life at my new school is crazy hectic and I just haven't had time until recently. Thank you everyone for being so patient and wonderful. Stay amazing :)

**Disclaimer: **Don't even bother...

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><p><strong>Part Four: Being sure of being unsure<strong>

Althea wasn't quite sure what to think and being so unsure, was something that was both new and terrifying for her. Growing up, the portrayal of her mother had been so vague, there were times where she struggled to believe that Katie even existed. To the young girl, her family was her father, her uncle and cousins, and that was all. In saying that, there were always times where she wondered exactly who her mother was, and why she was such a grey shadow in her life, but hardly ever dared to ask Travis who exactly Katie was.

Now, at fifteen, she had finally met her mom and didn't quite know how to handle the situation. Although she was never fully told the story of Travis and Katie, she knew enough to know that Katie had left her father because her, and that was something that Althea felt terrible for. Terrible couldn't even begin to describe the overwhelming guilt she felt whenever the thought that she was the reason her parents broke up crossed her mind. The daughter of Demeter didn't have the first impression that Althea had imagined, and now she just didn't know what to do.

And she hated it.

She was a daughter of Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner of course. Even though the pair were as different as fire and rain, they still shared their similarities. Both of them were insanely independent and liked to act as if they were ten feet tall and indestructible. Somehow, they managed to pass those genes onto Althea, as she was hell bent on proving to everyone that she was okay, when in reality, she was quite the opposite.

But she couldn't fool everyone.

Thad knew that something was wrong with his best friend, from the moment she stepped into Camp Half Blood. Even before they had come to camp, the young boy knew that this camp was not going to be all fun and games like he was used to. He and Lysander had both discussed Althea's situation, with her mother coming to camp, but they decided it would be best to wait for her to approach one of them. Both of the boys knew how stubborn she could be and trying to have a conversation with her about this would be near impossible if she didn't want to discuss this.

It was only about a week into camp when Thad was starting to get seriously worried. After the massive hug they had shared on the first day, he was certain that she was going to open up to him, but the deep and meaningful conversation never came. The descendant of Athena was both relieved and frustrated. Like most of the male population, he usually liked to stay clear of such conversations, especially when involved emotions of the female kind, but Althea was so important to him, that he was also longing to have the stupid conversation, just to be reassured that his best friend was okay.

He wasn't quite sure whether his next move was either really smart, or extremely foolish, but either way, he was going to find out exactly how Althea was feeling, whether she liked it or not. And knowing Althea, she probably was not going to like it.

It had been a pretty busy at Camp Half Blood, not like that was anything new. Althea had tried to get her mind of her 'Katie' situation by getting right into all the camp activities and doing her absolute best to avoid anything mother and Demeter related. She had managed to succeed so far, and before she knew it, it was free time just before dinner. Althea was making her way back to the Hermes cabin as she wanted to shower and try to wash away all her distress. As good as the plan had sounded in her mind; she knew that she was only fooling herself. Althea was so immersed in her thoughts, she hadn't realized that someone had fallen into step next to her.

"Hey Al, how are you?" The sound of her best friend's voice interrupted her train of thought and she couldn't help but jump. It took her a second to recover and she looked up, seeing the familiar stormy grey eyes looking down at her with a mixture of worry and compassion.

"Oh hey Thad, I'm…good," Althea tried to sound as convincing as possible, and if she wasn't speaking to her best friend, she probably would have gotten away with it. But Thad could read her like a picture book and there was no way he was buying it.

"Sure Althea," he replied, sounding completely unconvinced. "Is it okay if we talk?" He added quickly, unsure whether he was just being stupid and impulsive, or whether it was his subconscious wanting to reach out to his best friend.

"Talk about?" For a split second, Althea was actually pretty scared. Nobody had bothered to ask her how she was feeling after her meeting with her mother, not even her father. She knew that her dad was worried about her, but at the moment, he had his own battles to fight regarding the situation. She hadn't seen Lysander much during the past few days, as his younger brother was proving to be more of a handful than anyone ever realized.

"I think you know," Thad tried to sound more confident than he felt, but he was wondering if he was making the right decision. He didn't want to pressure her into talking about something that she wasn't comfortable speaking about, but he knew that it would help if she talked to someone about it.

Within a few minutes, they found themselves sitting by the lake. It was shower time for all the cabins, so there weren't many people roaming around, which Althea found a relief. The last thing she wanted was more people seeing her in such a vulnerable state. She hated being this vulnerable. She just wanted to stop hurting and feel like everything was going to be okay. Even though she knew that it wasn't going to happen for a long time.

"Talk to me Al," Thad's voice was surprisingly soft as he subtly tried to move a little closer to his best friend. Like most guys, he wasn't very good at the whole comfort scene, especially when it had girls in the equation, but he was pretty determined to make a decent effort.

"I don't know what to say Thad," Althea admitted after a moment's silence. And the sad thing was, it was the truth. Althea had no idea what to say, had no idea what her opinion was, simply because her mind changed every half hour. There were times where she hated her mother with a passion, but then she realized she could never truly hate her. There were times where she wished that she had never met Katie, so the image of the perfect mother would always be etched in her mind, but somewhere inside of her, she wanted to get to know her mother. She wanted to know why she left, and she just wanted to know what kind of person she was. Yet, at the same time, she wanted to run away at the mere thought of talking to her mother again. Althea hated not knowing what she wanted.

"What do you want to do?" Thad asked, not quite knowing what to say. For a moment, he regretted even wanting to help. It wasn't that he wasn't yearning to make his best friend feel better, he just had no idea how. Whenever he felt bad about something, he'd go and do calculus for a few hours or go start a computer programming course and at the end, he always felt better. Although he was pretty useless when it came to these sorts of things, he wasn't _that _clueless and he had a feeling that a college grade calculus textbook was not going to make Althea feel better.

"I honestly don't know," Althea repeated once more, sighing and running a hand through her dark hair in frustration. "You see the thing is, there is a part of me that never wants to talk to her again, but then again, there is a part of me that wants to talk to her, spend time with her, find out about her…" The younger Stoll trailed off, suddenly finding a new fascination with the grass she was sitting on. Althea wasn't one who really shared her personal thoughts, especially when it came to something as big as this. She couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed that she so suddenly just blurted out her problems.

Either Thad didn't realize her embarrassment, or failed to acknowledge it as he sat, immersed in his own thoughts. He could understand where she was coming from; he'd probably feel the same way. He thought for a long time about what he was going to say, being careful of how he was going to word it.

"Al, everything happens for a reason," he began slowly, trying to sound like he knew where he was going with this little speech. "She came to camp for a reason, and I think it would be good for you to talk her, to get to know her. That way, you'll know who she is. You may not like her, but at least you'll know exactly who she is. And isn't that what you've always wanted to know?" Althea thought about her best friend's words for a second. He was speaking absolute truth, but there was still the fear in her heart.

"I guess it's worth a shot…" muttered Althea non-commit tally, although she wasn't too sure. But whether she was going to like it or not, she was going to get to know her mother. She wasn't sure what she was more scared of, that Katie was going to be the lady that she never thought she was and she'd end up resenting her, or that she'd actually…like her.


	5. Part Five: An Epiphany From Both Ends

**The Dangers of Starting Over, Moving On and Everything in Between**

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I do sincerely apologise that it took me an incredibly long time to post this, but I promise to finish this story by the end of the year. Hopefully people are still reading it, enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** No way.

**Part Five: An Epiphany From Both Ends**

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><p>There weren't many silent moments at Camp Half Blood, but at 4:30am, it was definitely one of the quieter times. Althea was sitting up in her bunk, wide awake. She had not gotten a decent night's sleep since she had arrived at camp, and on the odd occasion she was able to fall asleep, her mind was filled with the possibilities of what could happen if she started to get to know Katie better. On a night like this, Althea had thought she had made a decision. Quickly, she pulled on a shirt and quietly got out of bed, not wanting to wake up any of her cabin members. Within minutes, she was out of the Hermes cabin and on her way to the Big House to finally confront Katie. Whether or not it was a good idea, Althea wasn't completely sure, but she was determined to find out.<p>

Only when she got to the Big House, she started to realize what a stupid idea she was trying to follow through. It was five in the morning, for Gods' sake, and she wasn't even sure what room Katie was sleeping in. Althea stood frozen in front of the Big House, uncertain of what she should do. Sighing, she plunked down on the veranda, sighing with frustration. She was at the same point again. Confusion. Frustration. Anger. Her mind was never at ease, and this was all she could think about. Although she desperately wanted answers, she wasn't too sure whether she'd be able to handle what they were.

"Althea?" The sound of her mother's voice shocked her, and she almost fell off the verandah. Althea whirled around to find Katie standing at the door of the Big House in a light blue dressing gown, looking as she too had not gotten much sleep.

"What are you doing out here?" Althea asked, as if it was normal to find a fifteen year old girl at the door of the Big House at five am in the morning. Katie shrugged, as if to say that she wasn't able to sleep either. It was finally her chance. Her chance to talk to her mother, or whatever she was, and find out exactly what had happened.

But then she realized she didn't even know what to ask. This was the moment she had dreamt of ever since she could remember. Althea recalled all the mother's days, the Christmases, and the birthdays, where her only wish was to meet her mother. When she was younger, Althea had this perfect image of her mother in her mind. She had never actually figured out what Katie properly looked like until she was twelve, but she had a pretty good imagination, and wasn't too surprised to see that she wasn't incredibly far off when it came to what Katie looked like in reality. After all, they looked similar in some aspects.

For all her life, all Althea had ever wanted was a good mother. Sure, she loved her father dearly and he was the best father she could ever ask for, but there was always this yearning to have a mother that she could talk to about anything. Although she would never admit it, there were times where she pretended like her mother was around and would talk to thin air.

Yet now her mother was standing right in front of her, in the flesh, Althea had run out of words to say. She could not think of anything she could possibly say to express all her feelings after fifteen years. There was so much that she wanted to say, but Althea couldn't bring herself to say any of it. Although she was bursting with all the words, she wasn't sure exactly how Katie would take it, and even after all of this, the last thing Althea wanted to do was hurt her mother with her words.

Without a second though, Althea stood up, mumbled a goodbye and rushed back to her cabin. As she got back to her bed, she lay down, staring at the darkness in front of her. As much as she wanted closure, she had finally come to the realization that she did not want to confront her mother. The mere thought of what could happen afterwards was far too terrifying and as much as Althea would never admit it, in the depths of her heart, she was too scared to find out what her mother truly thought of her.

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><p>Travis couldn't remember the last time he was ever so frustrated with himself. It had been four weeks since they arrived at Camp Half Blood, and he had been acting like a stupid teenage boy ever since. Since Althea was born, he never fussed around with his love life. Travis hadn't gone on a single date ever since then, no matter how much Connor had harassed him. Yet, the moment Katie had waltzed back into his life, here he was, feeling like the same hormonal teen he was when she left.<p>

This had to stop. Travis wasn't exactly enjoying feeling like this, but he wasn't too sure how he was supposed to get himself out of this rut. Ever since Althea, he had made a subconscious decision to not bother trying to find another woman. Whether it was because he wanted to focus on raising his daughter without any distractions, or because he was terrified of being left again, he didn't know. And there was a part of him that really didn't want to find out. As a son of Hermes, Travis was naturally cocky, it was just the way it was. He enjoyed his arrogance and the way he lived with such practiced ease, although he had definitely simmered down over the past fifteen years. But even now, the young man would never admit to any fear, not to a single person, not even himself.

What to do? It was the biggest question that was on Travis' mind. He didn't know what to do, and he didn't think anyone did. Sure, he wanted to move on and just forget about her, but from experience, it was obvious that his tactic was not exactly successful. It wasn't necessarily the fact that he wanted a new woman; he just wanted to forget his old one.

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><p>She hadn't seen her father in a few days, for some reason Althea found it easier to just avoid him, rather than try to confront him about the whole situation. Despite everything that had been going on, neither of them had actually bothered to talk to each other about it. The young teenage girl wasn't exactly afraid of what her father had to say, but she had been holding herself together quite well. Althea didn't enjoy the thought of breaking down, which she would most definitely do if she talked to her dad.<p>

The Gods may have been enjoying this far too much, as Althea ran into her dad the following morning. Literally. She was looking for Thad and Lysander around the amphitheater, jogging around and she ended up crashing into her dad, who was carrying the archery gear. All the gear came crashing to the floor, Travis cursing quietly in Greek as he bent down to pick it up.

"Althea!" You couldn't hide the tone of surprise from his voice as he looked up from the gear he was trying to pick up. He hadn't seen much of his daughter since they came to camp, and as horrible as it sounded, he was sort of relieved. Travis had always been the strong one, he was the man after all, the father. He was used to having to pretend like he knew it all, and that he was certain that everything was okay, and he had always been okay with it. In fact, he was usually more than okay with it, he was content with the knowledge that he was his daughter's security. But that this time, he could not deny that he was going through a struggle, and although he was able to (rather grudgingly) admit to Chris and Connor that he had a problem, Althea was another issue altogether.

He loved his daughter more than anything on the earth, and there was no way Travis was going to ruin the strong image he had kept up for his daughter for so long. The young man was terrified of breaking the confident person his daughter thought he was. He wanted to the best for his daughter always, and right now, he was definitely not in the right state of mind.

"Hi dad," It was a weird emotion, feeling awkward around her father. She loved her father incredibly, and she knew that she was able to talk to him about absolutely anything, well, except for Katie. Althea's mother had never been a fantastic discussion point; she could count the times they had talked about her on one hand.

Both of them could feel the awkward tension that filled the air, but neither of them were willing to start a conversation. Instead, they both just stood there, with so many things they wanted to say, but not enough words to actually say any of them. Althea looked at the ground, finding a sudden interest in the dirt underneath her running shoes.

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><p>"Is it ever going to be okay, dad?" Althea asked in a shy tone. She sounded much like the ten year old she used to be, rather than the teenager that she was now, and it broke Travis' heart. For a moment, he forgot all his insecurities, all his petty fears and doubts. He even forgot about Katie. Immediately, he placed the archery gear on the ground and pulled Althea into a warm embrace, doing everything he could to make her feel safe.<p>

He felt pretty stupid, forgetting that his own daughter was affected by everything that had been going on, arguably even more affected than he was. After all, he knew exactly what Katie had been like. Although it was an incredible blow to his system to find out she was married, it could've only hurt Althea more. He didn't think she knew about the fantasy Katie that Althea had created in her mind, but he had seen enough drawings and read enough of her school stories to have a vague idea of what she thought her mother was like. And to have that all wash away within a matter of moments would've been devastating.

"I promise," Travis whispered into his daughter's hair. This time he was going to make sure of it. Katie had done enough damage over the past fifteen years, and it was time to finally put a stop to it all. He suddenly didn't care about himself anymore, his feelings of anger and pain didn't seem like such a big deal. Travis had no idea how he was going to do it, but he was going to end this heartbreak.


	6. Part Six: Decisions

**Author's Note:** I am so incredibly sorry that this has taken me over a year and a half to post. I have left high school and started uni, and life's just caught up I suppose. I do plan on finishing this story however, and possibly write some more Tratie? Anyway, without further ado.

**Disclaimer:** Nope.

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><p><span>Part Six: Decisions<span>

The thoughts in Althea's mind made her feel as if her brain were going to spontaneously combust. The only thing that had consumed her mind ever since she'd had that first encounter with Katie was her mother. (If she could even call her that). Althea had no idea whether she should talk to her, or whether she should just stay away from her. Each decision had both its pros and cons, and Althea was just so unsure that she had no clue which one would have the best outcome. A part of her desperately wanted to talk to someone about the situation, to try and figure out what to do, what to say and how to act. But Althea had no idea who to talk to.

The Gods seemed to be listening to Althea's thoughts that day. She bumped into her Uncle Connor on the way to the Hermes cabin after dinner one night. She had seen more of him than she had her father, although that was probably purposeful. They'd had their little moment, and Travis had promised to end whatever the heck was even going on, but Althea wanted to take the matters into her own hands. She loved her dad for trying to protect her from all this stuff that was happening, but the dark haired girl was unsure of whether she wanted that protection anymore.

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><p>"Hey Uncle C," Althea greeted her uncle casually with a smile. They had a sound relationship, having good discussions about the best pranks and laughs about Lysander as a child whenever they were at each other's houses. Whenever Travis was unable to be at home during the night, Althea was at Connor's house and he and Chelsea didn't mind one bit.<p>

Connor didn't have a daughter of his own, so he treated Althea like one of his, and was the type of uncle to spoil her unnecessarily, but he loved it. The son of Hermes had an incredible soft spot for his niece and as he noticed the weary look in her piercing green eyes, he knew that this whole Katie ordeal had a bigger toll on Althea than anyone had seemed to notice.

"Is everything okay?" Connor was one to never beat around the bush, he didn't see the point. He went straight for the jugular, and in this instance, he was actually quite concerned for his niece. Everyone at camp knew exactly how Travis was feeling, as he was the type of person to wear all his feelings on his expressions, but Althea seemed to be an expert at hiding all her emotions. Connor hated seeing what Katie had done to his brother, especially after all this time. But even more than that, he absolutely despised her for what she had done to Althea. He couldn't comprehend how one could be so...heartless as to leave their own daughter and never even bother to speak to her. To act like she had never existed.

"I just don't know what to do," His niece confessed, stopping his train of thought. Connor looked down at her with a sympathetic smile, silently urging her to continue. "Part of me wants to hate her, you know? But the other part..." Althea trailed off, suddenly shy. Sure, she had been thinking about getting to know this 'mother' of hers, and to see what she was really like. Althea had always put her up on a pedestal growing up, simply because she knew nothing about her. In the past few weeks, all thoughts about her mother had come crashing down and now, she had absolutely no idea what to think of her mother. Although if she was being honest, she never really knew what to think of Katie. Althea had her childhood fantasies, but that was it. And that was barely anything.

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><p>"You want to get to know her?" Connor finished his niece's sentence off for her. Due to his personal bias, he didn't want to give Katie that chance to get to know Althea. She sure as heck did not deserve that. But Connor could also see why Althea would want to get to know her mother. After all, Katie did give birth to her. And Althea deserved to know why she left, and she deserved to know her mother and come up with her own conclusions about her. Althea wasn't a child anymore. She could and should be able to find out more about her mother if she wanted to. He wasn't so sure that Travis would agree however.<p>

Althea nodded shyly, unsure of what to say. She was just so sick of being indecisive, she wanted to make a choice and just follow through with it. If she was being honest, she'd never really imagined talking to her mother before. As in properly having a conversation with her and finding out about who she was. Sure, when she was younger, Althea had all these fantasies about what Katie was like and what it would be like to have a mom, but as she grew up, she just sort of...gave up. Althea had come to terms with the fact that she'd probably never meet Katie, and she was okay with that. After all, she had an amazing father who loved her more than anything, and a great family who she wouldn't trade for anything else in the world. She had her Aunt Chelsea, who she saw as her 'mom' figure in life, and that was enough for her.

So to be faced with the fact that her mother actually existed was a massive shock to the system, simply because Althea had never really stopped to think about it. Althea had all kinds of emotions whenever the subject of Katie would be brought up. Anger, resentment, sadness, bitterness, confusion...but most of all, she was just plain curious. There were little intricacies that Althea had always wanted to know about her mother. What was she like? What made her sad? Did she enjoy gardening just as much as she did? What made her mad? And there were also those bigger questions, that had answers that could potentially break Althea's heart. How did she fall in love with her dad? And what made her leave? Why didn't she come back? Why weren't they enough of her? Why didn't she even try? Why did she give up?

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><p>All these questions made Althea's head spin, and there was a desperate part of her that wanted all these questions to be answered. She just wanted to <em>know<em>. But at the same time, she feared all the answers to those questions. What if Katie had never even thought about her after leaving her on Travis' doorstep? How on earth was Althea supposed to feel then? Considering the mess of emotions that was now, it was no surprise that she was hesitant to find out.

"You should do it," Connor's statement surprised himself more than it did his niece. Somehow, he came to the conclusion Althea could decide what she thought of her mother. She was old enough to make those kinds of judgments, and himself and Travis shouldn't be able to stop her. If he was being honest, he didn't want Katie to have anything to do with her. But that stemmed from much more than his complete hatred for the daughter of Demeter. It was the risk of Travis and Althea being hurt again. That was something that Connor would never want to see in a million years, but if Althea were to open up to Katie...it was a tremendous possibility.

"Okay..." Althea murmured. Although she sounded unsure, in her mind, she had made her decision. She was going to confront her mother, and she was going to figure out exactly who she was. No matter how terrifying or daunting asking those questions seemed, Althea knew that she had to ask them. She was just unsure of how she would handle knowing all the answers.

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><p><strong>AN:** So there is the sixth part! Hopefully I shall have the next one up in a few weeks, thanks all for reading! I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate you all!


	7. Part Seven: An Awkward Affair

Part Seven: An Awkward Affair

A/N: I wrote more! Hope you enjoy :) Please review it and let me know what you think should happen next. Thanks for being so faithful everyone!

Disclaimer: I'm not even the same gender as Rick Riordan.

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><p>Because Althea had finally made a decision, she thought things were going to be easier. She had never been so wrong. The billions of thoughts in her mind didn't seem to stop, if anything they only got worse. There was a growing pit in her stomach as she had started to feel as if she was betraying her father. Since she had made her choice, she had been avoiding him like the plague. Confronting her dad who had been nothing but loving to her felt like Althea was going to stab him in the back.<p>

"Uh, Althea…" Lysander trailed off as he glanced at her, somewhat concerned for his overly distracted cousin. Since Katie had been around, everyone had been acting weird, Lysander thought with a frown. He obviously understood why, but it didn't make camp any fun. Althea was barely around, and when she was, she didn't want to take part in any of the pranks and was in no state to help the younger campers out. His dad was acting a bit weird too, but at least he was better at hiding it.

"Sorry, what?" Althea was snapped back into reality by the sound of her cousin's voice. They were in the middle of learning archery, well, that's what they were supposed to be doing. Althea looked down and realised that she hadn't even picked up a bow yet. Good going, she thought to herself sourly. She had no idea all this Katie commotion was going to take such a toll on her, and it deeply frustrated her that it did.

"Maybe you should sit out today," Lysander mentioned softly, hoping that he didn't end up insulting her. If she picked up a bow in her state, Lysander was worried she could end up beheading someone. Although Althea didn't want to, she knew that it was probably for the best and nodded without saying a word. She was completely frustrated with herself and she just had no idea how she was going to make it better.

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><p>Meanwhile, Travis was still doing his best to avoid Katie and Jake at all costs. So far, it had been pretty successful as everyone knew what was going on and it seemed to be the biggest elephant in the room that nobody wanted to confront. Everyone just minded their own business and tried to pretend like everything was normal. Travis hadn't seen Althea as often as he would've liked, but he just assumed that she was off on her usual shenanigans with the Hermes cabin.<p>

However, luck wasn't always going to be on his side. The elder Stoll was seated in the Big house, waiting for Malcolm so they could go help fix some damage at the amphitheatre when Katie walked in. Aphrodite always hated me, Travis thought sullenly.

"Hey Travis," He winced as she called out his name. The last thing he ever wanted to do was talk to Katie Gardner/Mason/whatever and he was very strongly considering just pretending like he hadn't heard her. He came to the realisation that he actually wasn't that childish anymore and he could at least try have a respectful, adult conversation with her.

"Hey Katie," Travis muttered curtly. Well, he tried. Unsurprisingly enough, he still couldn't get over the mountain of hurt and confusion Katie had left him years ago alongside you know…a daughter and all.

"You know we can talk, right?" Katie said. She knew that she had hurt Travis tremendously, but it was so long ago. If she could get over it, so should he, right? Jake Mason seemed to be the perfect man. He was well built, mature, organised and basically everything Travis Stoll was not. She had fallen deeply in love with Jake so quickly and they had moved quite fast, marrying only after a few months of dating. Katie had never been happier.

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><p>In saying that, there were many nights she would lie in bed, listening to Jake's soft snoring and wondering what her life would've been like if she had stayed with Travis. Although it seemed like she had no idea what was going on her daughter's life, Katie still had the occasional conversation with Annabeth. Although in no way did the daughter of Athena condone her behaviour, in fact, she'd had a lot of say about the situation, but always mentioned that Althea and Travis were doing really well.<p>

Katie didn't want to believe that Travis had got his life together, having a beautiful house, a great job, working at camp and raising a daughter. But somehow, she wasn't that surprised. Travis always worked so much better under pressure, and it seemed like Althea was all he needed to realise that he had to get his life together.

She wondered if she would've been a good mother to her daughter. With Demeter as her mother, it was fair to say that she never really had a maternal figure constantly being present in her life. Katie was so terrified of being a mother in case she ruined her child, she managed to convince herself that not being a part of their life was the only alternative.

From the little she had seen from Althea, Katie could tell she had been raised well. Althea was so beautiful, but she could barely notice half the camp boys staring at her. She was a jokester like her father, but was also responsible for a lot of the garden patches around the camp, which made Katie ridiculously proud even though she knew she had no right to be.

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><p>"I don't really know what to say," Travis finally said. He realised that he was no longer trying to be polite, but he was just being honest. Sure, the eldest Stoll had a mountain of questions to ask this woman about her life decisions, but at the end of the day, they were just that – her decisions. It was Katie's decision alone to leave Althea at Travis' front door. It was her decision to have no contact with him or his daughter. It was her decision to move on and get married to Jake. And although he would have sleepless nights because he wondered about all these decisions, he knew that finding out the reasons why wouldn't help the situation.<p>

"We can talk about Althea," Katie suggested softly. She wasn't lying if she admitted that she was desperate to know about her daughter. To know how Travis dealt with boy problems. If Althea even had boy problems. She wanted to know Althea's biggest fears, her worst nightmares, her favourite foods. She wanted to know what her daughter was like, but she had no way of knowing how.

Somehow, this seemed to anger Travis. She didn't have a _right_ to know about the daughter she decided to abandon all those years ago and never look back. Did she ever even regret her decision? Travis thought spitefully. Because she damn should have. Althea was undoubtedly the best thing that had ever happened to him. All the sleepless nights trying to settle her, all the times she had woken him up at 4am in the morning because she had a nightmare, all the moments that they would fight about what groceries to buy before eventually deciding on both – all those moments were so worth it. The moments of frustration when Althea wasn't doing what she was told, the moments of pride when he watched his daughter receive awards at school, the moments of worry when there was a possibility she was becoming friends with the wrong crowd. All those moments were worth it because he loved Althea endlessly.

He loved her when she was playing national soccer, he loved her when she had wet the bed eight nights in a row when she was six, he loved her when she decided it would be a great idea to finger paint the walls of their rented apartment. Travis would love her no matter what decisions she chose to make in life, and always support her, whether he would agree with those choices or not. When Katie had left him with a crying baby that night all that time ago, Travis had vowed to be the best parent that he could possibly be, because Althea had only one.

Travis had never thought that he'd ever love anyone so deeply and so unconditionally, but even as he thought about his daughter, his heart swelled with pride. Althea sure wasn't perfect, but she was his daughter and nothing in the world could change that. All these decisions made Althea and himself who they were, and Katie had no part in that. Katie had no idea that Althea was horribly sick at three years old and projectile vomited for weeks. She had no idea that she was her school's leading soccer player. She had no idea that Chelsea was like her mother because Katie was never there. Katie was never to know that Althea would always cry every mother's day because she couldn't understand why her mother left her.

"You know what Katie?" Travis said in a surprisingly calm tone. "If you want to find out about Althea yourself, you go ask her. I'm not going to tell you, because simply, I don't think you have a right to know about the amazing daughter you left behind. But it's your choice, it always has been. Go ask her what it's been like to have no mother your whole life, but don't come crying to me when you're finally confronted with the truth. You had an amazing opportunity and you left that. That was your decision, but when you talk to Althea, you'll realise it was the wrong one. And you know what? You can never take it back."

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><p>AN: Boom sassy Travis. Hope you enjoy, let me know what you think!


	8. Part Eight: The Beginnings of Closure

A/N: Oh look, another part! The story is close to ending! And I hope to finish it by the end of the year. Since I've finished uni for the year, I'm hoping to write some more Tratie themed stories, so look out for those!

Disclaimer: Nope.

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><p>Part Eight: The Beginnings of Closure<p>

Althea couldn't shake off the nervous feeling that was growing in the pit of her stomach, and to be fair, there was actually a reason for her nervousness. She was meeting with Katie tonight after dinner, in front of the amphitheatre – to talk. About what, Althea had no idea, and there was a part of her that was dreading to find out. When Katie had initially asked to meet with her, Althea straight refused, but after Katie's consistent begging and a talk with her father, she decided that one conversation, may in fact, be somewhat constructive and possibly enlightening, and she just hoped that she was right.

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><p>"<em>Dad, are you sure about this?" Althea was unsure how to react to her father's unusually settled and calm demeanour. When she had told Travis about Katie's insistence on a conversation, she had expected her dad to fly off the handle, and the fact that he was doing the exact opposite unnerved her.<em>

"_If you want to talk to her, go ahead. I'm not going to stop you," Travis replied calmly, trying not to sound as condescending as he initially wanted to be. The son of Hermes hadn't changed his mind about Katie's right (well, lack of) to know about his daughter, but he was also trying to accept that Althea was old enough to make her own decisions. He knew better than anybody that his daughter had an overwhelming amount of questions about the mysterious woman who was responsible for half her genetic makeup, and Travis wanted Althea to have answers that came from that woman's mouth. If anything, it was Althea who deserved the right to know exactly what kind of woman her mother was, and his rather biased opinion on the matter wouldn't help Althea figure that out._

_With Travis' new mindset, there was really no reason to not talk to Katie. Travis was at peace with it, and Katie had made the initial step, but Althea still felt like there was something that was stopping her. She wasn't sure exactly what it was, but whenever the thought of talking to her mother popped up in her mind, she was filled with anxiety more than anything else. She wasn't sure whether it was fear or just plain anger. _

"_I don't know if it's what I want," The young brunette blurted out before she even had a chance to think. Travis was slightly startled at her sudden outburst and looked over at her, concern creeping onto his face. _

"_Althea, I'm not going to force you to do anything you want to do," Travis began quietly. "But if you want to know about your mom, now's the time." _

_She thought about those words for a moment, letting what her dad said sink in. Of course she wanted to know about her mother, it had been her only dream for practically the entirety of her life. Althea had also come to terms with the fact that in no way was Katie going to live up to any expectation that her younger self had envisioned as a child. Katie wasn't going to dramatically apologize for leaving her and her dad, and she wasn't going to magically become close to Althea – but it dawned on Althea that she didn't even really want that. But then, what did she want?_

"_What are you so afraid of Althea?" Travis asked, his voice soft. Althea didn't even need to say anything, but Travis could see the fear etched in her eyes. For a moment, Althea said nothing. What _did_ she have to be afraid of? _

"_I guess, I'll just know," Althea mumbled, unsure of the words that were coming out of her mouth. It was hard for Travis to hide the perplexed look on his face, but Althea continued. "I'll know why she left. Why we weren't enough."_

_Travis' heart broke. He felt fiery anger rise in his chest as he swallowed in attempts to drown it. He hated that Katie made his daughter feel unwanted. Yeah, maybe Althea was a little bit, unexpected, but she was the best thing that had ever happened to Travis and he wouldn't trade her for anything. But he was so infuriated that Katie was able to make Althea feel a way that Travis had been so determined to extinguish. He forced himself to calm down as he put his arm around his daughter's shoulders._

"_I want you to listen very closely Al," he started, a little unsure of where this was going. He had so much love for his daughter that had overwhelmed him. Travis had never imagined he could love anything, or anyone so deeply and so unconditionally. He could never express how much he appreciated and loved his daughter, but he definitely tried. "You are wanted. You are wanted by the people who matter. Sometimes people leave, and we never quite understand why. But that's their problem, it's not yours. More often than not, people leave because they are battling with things, and it's not your fault. Althea, your mom leaving was never your fault."_

_It took Althea a while to properly process her dad's words. _It's not your fault._ The phrase repeated itself over and over again in her mind. Although she had never expressed it to anyone, she knew that deep down inside, she always felt like she was the reason her mom had left her dad. It was so obvious to her – she couldn't handle being a teen mom, so she ran away as fast as she could. If Althea hadn't happened, Travis and Katie could've still been together. But, as she thought these things, her father's words lingered in her mind. Her mom obviously had to battle with the choices that her and Travis made, and she simply couldn't. That was in no way or shape Althea's fault, it's not exactly like she had a say in the matter. But at the end of the day, Katie had made her own choices, and those choices she made alone. _

_Travis and Althea sat in silence for a few moments, wrapped up in their own individual thinking. Once Althea was able to really believe she was not at fault, she felt a peace in her heart. It was all starting to make a little bit of sense now. _

"_I think I'll talk to her," Althea finally said, resting her head on her father's shoulder. Travis looked down at his daughter, a surge of pride threatening to overtake him. He took a deep breath, attempting to push away the tears prickling his eyes. He bent down to give her a small peck on the forehead._

"_That sounds like a good idea Al. I'm always going to be here. And I'm always going to want you." _

* * *

><p>With her father's words resonating in her mind, Althea walked over to the amphitheatre, trying to remain open minded and calm. Surprisingly, she was able to keep her cool and enjoy her dinner with her cabin. Althea had only talked to Lysander about the situation, and he was supportive of what she was going to do. He had a similar mindset to Travis. He didn't really want Katie to have any kind of relationship with Althea, she didn't deserve that in the slightest. But what he did want was Althea to finally just be at peace with everything that had been dealt to her, and he really hoped that this conservation was going to be it.<p>

She wanted to let go of all the prejudices she had about Katie, and she wanted to really hear this woman out, even though Althea felt like Katie didn't deserve it. But she wanted to be the bigger person. This was the type of person that Travis had raised her to be, and it was the type of person that Althea wanted to be.

"Hi Althea," Katie stood up from the steps of the theatre as the teenager approached her. Althea took a deep breath, attempted a smile and began to speak.

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><p>Write a review and let me know what you think!<p> 


	9. Part Nine: Peace In Peaces

A/N: Here is the second to last part of this story! It was quite challenging for me to write from Katie's point of view, so I hope it makes sense.

Disclaimer: Still nope.

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><p>Part Nine: Peace in Pieces<p>

"Hi Katie," Althea responded after a moment's thought. She was surprised to hear her voice sounding cool and confident, despite the fact her stomach was twisting itself up in knots. She pushed aside the nervousness starting to build up inside of her and opened her mouth again. "So, what do you want to know?"

The abruptness of the conversation startled Katie a bit. She was expecting Althea to beat around the bush a little, make some small talk before getting into the serious stuff. Well, Travis was never into small talk either, Katie thought as she studied the young girl in front of her.

Althea stood tall, radiating a sense of...something, but Katie couldn't quite think of the word to describe her daughter. It wasn't beauty, although there was no doubt that Althea was a beautiful girl. It was more than just her physical appearance. There was just something about her that was different from any other kid Katie had ever come across. A quiet strength seemed to shine out of Althea, and the thought made Katie's heart ache.

* * *

><p>She noted her daughter's eyebrow raised as she waited for Katie to speak, with a mixture of doubt and impatience etched on her face. In that moment, she looked exactly like Travis and the daughter of Demeter wondered if she had made a mistake setting up this whole thing.<p>

She'd been in love with Travis Stoll, there was no doubt about it, although it seemed like an eon ago. Katie remembered every single prank he'd ever pulled on her, every date they'd ever gone on and all the special moments they'd had together. Even after all these years, Katie had never parted with a single memory. They were too precious.

When they had started going out, the Demeter cabin couldn't believe she was dating the one of the biggest clowns in camp. And if she was being quite honest, she didn't quite believe it either. He was everything that she wasn't. Charming, witty, light-hearted, easy going…alluring. She was just an average, semi-dorky, gardener kid and she had no idea how she had managed to get asked out by one of the hottest guys she'd ever met.

Travis was the kind of guy that was so easy to fall for. He said all the right words, did the right things and at times, the romance just felt so surreal. There was a part of Katie that had wondered how many of those lines he'd used on every other girl at camp, but they just felt so…genuine. Even though he was a playboy, Katie was always certain of his love for her. This son of Hermes made her feel important, like she was someone. And it wasn't because of the way he talked about her body or her hair, but it was the way that he encouraged her to go after all these things she never thought that she was capable of. Because he believed in her so much, she started to believe in herself as a result. And if anything, everyone thought Travis would be the one to end it. Well, look at it now, Katie thought wryly.

* * *

><p>Turning her attention back to Althea, she wondered what she was going to say to her. All the questions that she had rehearsed earlier suddenly seemed so stupid.<p>

Katie knew that there was nothing she could say to her daughter that was going to suddenly make Althea love her, or even want to talk to her again. Taking a sharp breath, Katie forced herself to think about exactly what she wanted to know about her daughter.

In that moment, she realised that she wanted to know everything. Katie wanted to know Althea's biggest fears, her most amazing accomplishments. She wanted to know whether Althea shared her love of gardening or snored like her father. Katie wanted to know whether she was as afraid of spiders as she was and if she loved hamburgers as much as Travis did. Katie had missed out on everything, and the loss of her daughter suddenly hit her like one of Zeus' lightning bolts.

"Well, are you going to say anything?" Althea's voice bought the daughter of Demeter out of her reverie. Katie's head snapped up to look at the dark haired girl in front of her and realised that if she wasn't going to start talking, the only chance she'd probably ever have of getting to know Althea would slip past her.

"I just don't really know what to say," Katie blurted out before she had a chance to think. Althea raised her eyebrow a little higher as she tried to figure out kind of game this woman in front of her was trying to play. All of a sudden, Althea wanted to turn on her heels and run the opposite direction, feeling that she'd made a mistake. How could she have been so stupid? What was talking to Katie going to confirm? What on earth was she going to get out of it? The dark haired teenager cursed silently, turning her eyes to the ground in attempts to hide her anger.

* * *

><p>"Some kind of meeting this turned out to be," Althea huffed as she folded her arms across her chest. She had no idea what was going to happen, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to find out. All this had been a mistake. As Althea opened her mouth to say exactly what was on her mind, Katie had bet her to it.<p>

"I'm sorry," it was the only words that Katie could think of to say despite all the swirling questions that were swimming around her mind. It just didn't feel right to ask Althea something as monotonous as her favourite colour after all these years.

All the anger that was burning inside of Althea bubbled at the sound of Katie's words. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. After leaving her on her father's doorstep and _never_ ever making contact with her until sixteen years later, all she can say is sorry? Althea though, fuming.

"Sorry?" Althea scoffed before she could stop herself. "That's all you can say? Sorry?" The dark haired teen could feel the tears brimming her eyes, but she refused to cry. There was no way that she was going to let this woman see her cry, she didn't deserve to see her own daughter at that level of vulnerability.

"What do you want me to say Althea?" There was no hiding the desperation in Katie's voice. She just wanted to fix it. Somehow. She wanted to tell Althea that if she could do it all again, she would have never left. That she would have stayed and became her mother, and would've married Travis and they would have been a family. Never so badly had Katie wanted to tell her daughter how she thought of Althea every single day, and there wasn't a moment where she wished that she had raised the beautiful girl in front of her.

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><p>Althea took in the words that her…mother had spoken. What exactly did she want Katie to say? She glanced up to see the woman in front of her, who was nothing like she had imagined her mother. Physically, you could see the similarities between the two, but beyond that, Althea wasn't sure she wanted to ever share a single trait with the woman who had given her life.<p>

Yet, Althea couldn't bring herself to hate Katie. She so badly wanted to loathe the woman who had broken her father's heart and left her, but she just…couldn't. And Althea knew no matter what happened, she wouldn't hate her. Instead, she felt a wave of pity wash across her for the lady that was standing in front of her. She now knew what she wanted Katie to say.

"Why?" At that point, Althea didn't care that her voice had cracked because the tears were already streaming down her face. "Why did you have to go?"

The brokenness in her daughter's voice broke Katie's heart. It was all her fault that Althea was going through all this heartbreak, this confusion, this pain. It was all because Katie had made a choice all those years ago to walk away from her first love, and possibly the most amazing thing that he could give her – a beautiful daughter. Nobody had made her walk away, it was nobody's fault but her own. She could blame nobody but herself.

"I…" Katie started, unsure of what to say. She wasn't even sure why she left anymore. At the time, it had seemed like the best idea. She and Travis were eighteen years old, and could barely look after themselves, let alone another tiny human for the rest of their life. Katie had trouble choosing what to eat for breakfast and it just seemed impossible to make all these responsible choices, not only for herself but for another person. "I wasn't strong enough," the daughter of Demeter mumbled finally. Althea stayed silent, urging her mother to continue. She was finally going to hear the answers to all the questions she'd asked her whole life, although she had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answers.

"I was young and I was stupid. Your dad, he tried to convince me to stay. He told me that we could do it, that we could be a family," tears began to streak Katie's tears as the memories flooded back.

* * *

><p>"<em>We can do this K, I love you!" Travis was shouting now, his face red and his expression desperate. They had been talking about what they were going to be doing for a few weeks now, but when Katie had told her that she wanted to adopt the baby, Travis couldn't handle it. There was no way in Hades that Travis was going to let his baby be brought up by someone else.<em>

"_No we can't! We're kids, Travis. I can't do this!" Katie yelled back, throwing a pillow in his direction. She had already made up her mind. She wasn't responsible enough to have a child, she couldn't drop all her dreams for a mistake. Travis tried to grab her arm but Katie shoved him away. She looked up to see his face filled with hurt at the rejection as he stepped back._

"_I want this baby Katie," he said so quietly that Katie could only just hear him. "And I'm going to raise this child, with or without you."_

* * *

><p>"I just knew that I couldn't handle it. I wasn't responsible, I was just a stupid kid. I wasn't cut out to be a mother. I'd had so many plans before having children and I just knew-" Althea put her hand up to stop her mother from continuing. She had heard enough.<p>

"I'm sorry I was a mistake," Althea's voice was stone cold as she stared at Katie with no emotion on her face. Katie opened her mouth to argue, but Althea continued to talk. She didn't want to hear anymore. Katie had answered her questions. "Dad was just a stupid kid then too. But he changed. He was willing to change. You were right, you weren't strong enough. You weren't strong enough to put aside your selfish goals for the daughter that you created and the man that you loved."

The words hit Katie like a roundhouse kick to the skull. What hurt even more was knowing that Althea was right. She walked away from having such an incredible family because she was selfish.

"I know Althea, and I know sorry doesn't mean anything," Katie spoke, dropping her head with shame.

"No it doesn't," Althea said, doing her best to stop her voice from quavering. "Stay away from me, and stay away from my dad. You've already done enough damage." And with those final words, Althea turned around and walked away.

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><p>AN: I hope you guys enjoyed it! Let me know what you think :)


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